Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-03-24
ANOTHER HORROR.
Burning of the New Richmond
Hotel at Buffalo.
The House Filled with Guests, Many
of Whom Lost Their Lives, While
the Rest Escaped in More or Less
Damaged Condition-Scenss
and Incidents.

BUFFALO, N. Y, March 1S.-Fire was dis
covered at half-past three O'Clock this
morning in the New Richmond Hotel, cor
ner of Main and Eagle streets. The alarm
was sounded and the fire department re-
sponded promptly. The hotel was opened
for business about month ago. and hand
somely fitted up and decora ted, and was
filed with guests last night. The fl re
spread with frightful rapidity, and the
guests rudely awakened from their slum-
bers by the horrible cry of fire" rushed
to the windows and other possible avenues
of escape. When they saw the flames
shutting off their way to the
ground their heartrending shrieks could
be heard blocks away.
At 4:10 a m. the whole building was
ablaze, with six streams of water play ing
on the north end, but the brisk wind was
bafn ing the efforts of the firemen.
By 4:3o a. m. the fire had enveloped the
northern half Of the block, and spreading
round to Washington street, Bunnelrs
museum was EN- braced in its destructive
group, and before 4:45 a. m. was ruin.
At 4:43 the south wall fell on the frame
structure on Main street, occupied by
Creighton's saloon and Palacio's cigar
store. Two minutes later another section
fell and completely demolished this struct-
ure.
At six O'Clock the spread of the fire was
checked.
The ground floor of the hotel building
was occupied by Albrich & Kingsley's
stationery store; Peter Paul & Bros
stationery store and the Boston Clothing
House, all Of which are total loss.
The reading room and Office of the hotel
also occupied a portion of the ground
floor fronting on Main street.
The corner occupied by the Boston
Clothing House, was to have been fitted
up as the Office on May l.
Nothing is left standing of the hotel
building except a portion of the walls.
The origin of the fire is as yet not
known. VIM. Fl. Airport, the night cler k,
says:
"The fire started in the cloak-room, under
the main stairway, at fifty minutes past
three o'clock. There was nobody up but
myself, Joe, the night porter, and Plum
mer, the bell-boy. pulled all four of the
fire alarms on the different floors, and the
people came flying down stairs in their
night clothes. The fire followed the ele.
vator, and inside of five minutes the watch
man and | got a plank and broke in the
Eagle street entrance to the hotel. Then
we got the plank under the fire escape on
Eagle street and helped people down. l
think there were about eighty-four guests
in the house."
The flames spread to the southeast side
of the hotel first. The tiremen did noble
work and confined the fire within the mar
row limits OF the three buildings named.
Their work Of rescue had many exciting
incidents The telegraph wires were, as
usual, in the way of the ladder brigade,
and much valuable time was lost in get
ting the ladders past them.
Among the many brave deeds of the fire.
men was ore deserving especial mention.
District Engineer Edward Murphy was on
a ladder rescuing some of the occupants
of the hotel. One of the female domestics
appeared at an upper windew, ap-
parentiy frantic with terror. He shouted
to her to remain where she was and he
would come up and save her. Instead of
obeying, the girl leaped from the window.
AS she leaped in her downward flight he
threw out an arm and caught her around
the neck. The shock caused him to lose
his balance, but he recovered himself,
and, still clasping the girl, slid down the
ladder with her in safety amidst the
cheers of the crowd.
Perhaps the most thrilling escape of any
was that of Press Whitaker, stepson Of
proprietor Stafford. He roomed in the
fifth story, and when aroused stepped to
the window and looked down for a few
seconds. Then he deliberately dressed
himself and, emerging from the window,
stood on the stone Gaping above the WIN
dow beneath; from this Gaping he
stepped to the next one along the front of
the building and proceeded in this man
ner to the Hayes truck ladder at the other
extremity of the front The nerve and
GOODNESS displayed was remarkable.
Colonel E. J. Bassett, the veteran read
juster of the Etna Insurance Company,
of Hartford, Conn, said: II arrived at
tn Richmond at half-past one this morn
ing and left at half-past three. My enter
tainment was short and hot. I objected
to going up high, but the clerk said the
third floor vas the best he could do.
was awakened by the electric bell-which,
by the way, believe saved my lfe-at
first thought it the seven o'clock bell,
but jumping out Of bed and hearing the
cry of fire, realized my position. threw
on some clothes and went into the cerri-
dor, where l met an immense volume Of
smoke, with the flames not ten feet away,
red, roaring, horrible. The rotunda was
a raging furnace. rushed blindly after
other flying forms, knew not where, I'M
til I came to staircase. How got down
I don't remember. I must have cleared
it, with bare feet, at one
bound. With flames everywhere, smoke
in your eyes and shrieks in your ears, we
tum bl ed out into balcony on Main street
on the second floor. Seeing water pipe,
an ordinary conductor, I grabbed it and
slid to the G round, sore, bruised and as
founded to find myself safe. I found my
boots on the sidewalk and my coat-that's
all saved. 1t was truly night Of ter.
rorn
Among the guests at the hotel were
twenty-five insurance men, who had come
to adjust the losses on the Miller & Grein-
er and Courier fires. They are all &C
counted for.
Chief Hornung of the fire department
said: 'sThe number of people rescued IS
about twenty to twenty-five. We did all
we could to rescue them. We got two
streams in the corridor, and at that mo-
ment the flames were shooting up that |
big staircase and elevator, away beyond
the reach of the hose. We tried to play |
both streams upward on the fire, but
there was SO much screaming by the
guests and calls for help from the win
dows that we called off most of the men
from the hose and let the building go for
awhile, giving all our attention to the
ladders. Damn the building I yelled, |
save the peoples! and the boys helped to
man the ladders on the outside, putting up
two on the Main street side and the short
ones on Eagle street. There was need Of
it, too 1t was horrible sight to see
them jumping from every side. The cool
headed ones were rescued all right, but |
some would not waltz
Willard WEIGH, of Albany, readjuster of |
the City of London Insurance Company,
had narrow escape. He was in fourth |
story room, and was hardly out of bed |
when the flames entered the room and at |
tackled the bed. He opened the window. |
Said he: 1sThe fire pursued me: caught |